Working alone is discouraged. If working alone is unavoidable:
- Working alone should be restricted to low-risk activities only.
- Workers or researchers responsible for higher risk activities associated with more complex procedures shall be supervised for the first 4–5 cycles of operational work. This ensures adequate training and proper safety protocols are being met.
Note to Supervisors: All tasks that have a risk potential should be covered under standard operating procedure training. Please do not assume all tasks are familiar to the worker.
- Designated working hours are limited to building hours, and working alone is not permitted outside these hours.
- A supervisor must approve working alone. This approval is location and task specific.
- The worker must set up a Check-in System with either a co-worker or immediate supervisor. The Check-in contact must know the location of work, must agree to serve as the contact person, and must understand this procedure.
- UBC Safety and Risk Services (SRS) has launched the UBC Safe app (This is Mech’s preferred Working Alone procedure). The app has numerous safety features, including a WorkAlone feature that offers regular check-ins when working alone, and automatically notifies the emergency contact / UBC Security if a check in is not completed.
Note: Specific procedures should be developed based on a risk assessment. Resources for risk assessment can be found below.